I have a 9 month DS. On 3 solids meals a day, eats well, has about 20oz milk during the day give or take a couple. He still has 1-2 night feeds which add up to about another 10+oz overnight, around 12 and 4am is the pattern. I have been avoiding doing much about this as I've wanted to wait until he grew out of it, he's a late baby so I always felt he needed his milk, and also as he feeds quickly and 9 times out of 10 is back in his cot asleep within 20 mins it's been something I can cope with. But the regularity of it and the fact he has so much during the day has started to convince me it is becoming habit and one he could now do without. But all the sleep training 'methods' seem based on getting babies to 'sleep through' and also lean towards training the baby that you won't be going in to them overnight. I don't mind if DS doesn't sleep through yet,, he is good at going down 7.30-8pm, sleeps in his room, has the two feeds, possibly a random shush pat or quick cuddle resettling for some other issue and up around 6-6.30am. I don't want him waking for milk by habit and I'd like to be able to resettle him without milk, but I will always go in to him if he cries (just started getting teeth) so the methods based on CC etc aren't really any use to me. Writing all this makes me see he's certainly not the worst sleeper in the world and I'm not bothered about getting 8 hours a night myself if he needs me, so am I just destined not to be able to stop night feeds?!
His night routine is bath, dress for bed then he feeds to sleep and I put him in the cot. He can on occasion self settle but because he nearly always falls asleep feeding or when his dummy goes in he goes in the cot asleep nearly every time. He naps in his cot twice a day well. I am thinking to change his routine to dress and bottle and story in our room then take him to his room. But he's always gone down ok so again I don't feel the need to change this really.
Any advice on ways to stop the bottles?!